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WO2004094721A1 - Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching - Google Patents

Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2004094721A1
WO2004094721A1 PCT/US2004/010636 US2004010636W WO2004094721A1 WO 2004094721 A1 WO2004094721 A1 WO 2004094721A1 US 2004010636 W US2004010636 W US 2004010636W WO 2004094721 A1 WO2004094721 A1 WO 2004094721A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
fabric
voids
void
laser
press
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US2004/010636
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Trent W. Davis
James G. Donovan
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Albany International Corp
Original Assignee
Albany International Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority to KR1020057019412A priority Critical patent/KR101097747B1/en
Priority to EP04749812A priority patent/EP1618250B1/en
Priority to PL04749812T priority patent/PL1618250T3/en
Priority to DE602004020331T priority patent/DE602004020331D1/en
Priority to MXPA05011112A priority patent/MXPA05011112A/en
Priority to NZ542798A priority patent/NZ542798A/en
Priority to JP2006509757A priority patent/JP2006523786A/en
Priority to AU2004233137A priority patent/AU2004233137A1/en
Application filed by Albany International Corp filed Critical Albany International Corp
Priority to BRPI0409396-8A priority patent/BRPI0409396A/en
Priority to CA2521761A priority patent/CA2521761C/en
Publication of WO2004094721A1 publication Critical patent/WO2004094721A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Priority to NO20055437A priority patent/NO20055437L/en
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21F—PAPER-MAKING MACHINES; METHODS OF PRODUCING PAPER THEREON
    • D21F7/00—Other details of machines for making continuous webs of paper
    • D21F7/08—Felts
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21F—PAPER-MAKING MACHINES; METHODS OF PRODUCING PAPER THEREON
    • D21F1/00—Wet end of machines for making continuous webs of paper
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D21—PAPER-MAKING; PRODUCTION OF CELLULOSE
    • D21F—PAPER-MAKING MACHINES; METHODS OF PRODUCING PAPER THEREON
    • D21F1/00—Wet end of machines for making continuous webs of paper
    • D21F1/0027—Screen-cloths
    • D21F1/0063—Perforated sheets
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S162/00—Paper making and fiber liberation
    • Y10S162/90—Papermaking press felts
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S162/00—Paper making and fiber liberation
    • Y10S162/902—Woven fabric for papermaking drier section
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S162/00—Paper making and fiber liberation
    • Y10S162/903—Paper forming member, e.g. fourdrinier, sheet forming member
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
    • Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
    • Y10T428/24273—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.] including aperture

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the paperma ing arts. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method whereby a water permeable press fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing voids.
  • a cellulosic fibrous web is formed by depositing a fibrous slurry, that is, an aqueous dispersion of cellulose fibers, onto a moving forming fabric in the forming section of a paper machine. A large amount of water is drained from the slurry through the forming fabric, leaving the cellulosic fibrous web on the surface of the forming fabric .
  • a fibrous slurry that is, an aqueous dispersion of cellulose fibers
  • the newly formed cellulosic fibrous web proceeds from the forming section to a press section, which includes a series of press nips.
  • the cellulosic fibrous web passes through the press nips supported by a press fabric, or, as is often the case, between two such press fabrics.
  • the press nips the cellulosic fibrous web is subjected to compressive forces which squeeze water therefrom, and which adhere the cellulosic fibers in the web to one another to turn the cellulosic fibrous web into a paper sheet.
  • the water is accepted by the press fabric or fabrics and, ideally, does not return to the paper sheet.
  • the paper sheet finally proceeds to a dryer section, which includes at least one series of rotatable dryer drums or cylinders, which are internally heated by steam.
  • the newly formed paper sheet is directed in a serpentine path sequentially around each in the series of drums by a dryer fabric, which holds the paper sheet closely against the surfaces of the drums .
  • the heated drums reduce the water content of the paper sheet to a desirable level through evaporation.
  • the forming, press and dryer fabrics all take the form of endless loops on the paper machine and function in the manner of conveyors. It should further be appreciated that paper manufacture is a continuous process which proceeds at considerable speeds. That is to say, the fibrous slurry is continuously deposited onto the forming fabric in the forming section, while a newly manufactured paper sheet is continuously wound onto rolls after it exits from the dryer section.
  • the present invention relates primarily to the fabrics used in the press section, generally known as press fabrics, but it may also find application in the fabrics used in other paper industry processes.
  • Press fabrics play a critical role during the paper manufacturing process.
  • One of their functions, as implied above, is to support and to carry the paper product being manufactured through the press nips.
  • Press fabrics also participate in the finishing of the surface of the paper sheet . That is, press fabrics are designed to have smooth surfaces and uniformly resilient structures, so that, in the course of passing through the press nips, a smooth, mark-free surface is imparted to the paper . Perhaps most importantly, the press fabrics accept the large quantities of water extracted from the wet paper in the press nip. In order to fulfill this function, there literally must be space, commonly referred to as void volume, within the press fabric for the water to go, and the fabric must have adequate permeability to water for its entire useful life. Finally, press fabrics must be able to prevent the water accepted from the wet paper from returning to and rewetting the paper upon exit from the press nip.
  • Contemporary press fabrics are used in a wide variety of. styles designed to meet the requirements of the paper machines on which they are installed for the paper grades being manufactured.
  • they comprise a woven base' fabric into which has been needled a batting of fine, non-woven fibrous material.
  • the base fabrics may be woven from monofilament, plied monofilament, multifilament or plied multifilament yarns, and may be single- layered, multi-layered or laminated.
  • the yarns are typically extruded from any one of several synthetic polymeric resins, such as polyamide and polyester resins, used for this purpose by those of ordinary skill in the paper machine clothing arts .
  • Woven fabrics take many different forms. For example, they may be woven endless, or flat woven and subsequently rendered into endless form with a seam. Alternatively, they may be produced by a process commonly known as modified endless weaving, wherein the widthwise edges of the base fabric are provided with seaming loops using the machine- direction (MD) yarns thereof. In this process, the MD yarns weave continuously back and forth between the widthwise edges of the fabric, at each edge turning back and forming a seaming loop.
  • MD yarns weave continuously back and forth between the widthwise edges of the fabric, at each edge turning back and forming a seaming loop.
  • a base fabric produced in this fashion is placed into endless form during installation on a paper machine, and for this reason is referred to as an on-machine-seamable fabric. To place such a fabric into endless form, the two widthwise edges are seamed together.
  • the seaming loops themselves are often formed by the machine- direction (MD) yarns of the fabric.
  • MD machine- direction
  • the seam is typically formed by bringing the two ends of the fabric press together, by interdigitating the seaming loops at the two ends of the fabric, and by directing a so-called pin, or pintle, through the passage defined by the interdigitated seaming loops to lock the two ends of the fabric together.
  • the woven base fabrics may be laminated by placing one base fabric within the endless loop formed by another, and by needling a staple fiber batting from one or both of the sheet side or machine side of the base fabrics through both base fabrics to join them to one another.
  • One or both woven base fabrics may be of the on- machine-seamable type.
  • press fabrics can be used as the "base" fabric for a press fabric such as extruded meshes, knitted structures, or other nonwoven products such as foils, films, or spunbonds .
  • the press fabrics are in the form of endless loops, or are seamable into such forms, having a specific length, measured longitudinally therearound, and a specific width, measured transversely thereacross.
  • the present invention is a method whereby a finished water permeable press fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing backside voids which are reservoirs of minimum pressure available to accept water.
  • Figure 1 is a side view illustrating the method of the present invention
  • Figure 2 is a plan view of one example of an array of voids produced by the method shown in Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 is a plan view of another configuration for an array of void.s .
  • Figure 1 illustrates the method according to the present invention wherein a fabric 10, for example, a conventional water permeable press fabric, is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing voids 12 , or reservoirs of minimum pressure, on the fabric back surface 16 which are available to accept water.
  • voids 12 or reservoirs of minimum pressure
  • the macro-voids 12 When drilled on a backside surface 16 of fabric 10 using a laser 14, the macro-voids 12 have a breadth and a depth, for example, in the range of approximately 0.30 to 1.50 mm.
  • the laser 14 which may be, for example, a small medical laser, is used to selectively etch the voids 12 in the surface 16 of the fabric 10. This allows very accurate depth profile control of the removed material . Of course other laser etching devices suitable for the purpose may also be used. In addition, conventional laser etching control systems (not shown) may be used to impart the desired void pattern or profile at great speed, while also providing great flexibility in void design and size. Typical configurations include a square array 24 of hemispherical voids 22 in the fabric 20 shown in Figure 2, or a square array 34 of triangular pyramidal voids 32 in the fabric 30 illustrated in Figure 3.
  • void designs and sizes may include, for example, circular/hemispherical, square/pyramidal, rectangular/cuboid, hexagonal, elliptical (cross- achine- direction/machine-direction orientation) , annular/demi oroidal, and grooved.
  • Other void array patterns may include, for instance, hexagonal, pseudo random, triangular, and linear/spiral (for example, grooved) .
  • the method of the present invention may include steps (not shown) for handling contingencies such as fiber removal from the voids and gaseous vaporization by-products.
  • Another prior patent (U.S. Patent No. 4,300,982) provides drainage voids on the backside of a belt, but by means very different than the present invention, that is, by providing raised incompressible islands of monofilaments .
  • Yet another prior patent (U.S. Patent No. 4,446,187) describes laser drilling holes on a surface of a liquid impermeable material defined as a "foil". The expressed purpose is to obtain a dewatering belt possessing an even pressure distribution and a smooth paper-contact surface made liquid permeable by laser drilling holes.
  • the present invention specifies laser drilling on the backside surface of a liquid permeable fabric to provide fluid reservoirs, or areas of low pressure, to facilitate dewatering.
  • micro-voids may be drilled on a faceside of fabric 10 to similarly enhance void volume, fluid flow and drainage without adversely affecting the surface qualities of the fabric 10.

Landscapes

  • Paper (AREA)
  • Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
  • Weting (AREA)
  • Perforating, Stamping-Out Or Severing By Means Other Than Cutting (AREA)
  • Encapsulation Of And Coatings For Semiconductor Or Solid State Devices (AREA)

Abstract

A method whereby a water permeable press fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing voids which are reservoirs of minimum pressure available to accept water.

Description

METHOD FOR INCREASING PRESS FABRIC VOID VOLUME BY LASER ETCHING
Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to the paperma ing arts. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method whereby a water permeable press fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing voids.
Background Of The Invention
During the papermaking process, a cellulosic fibrous web is formed by depositing a fibrous slurry, that is, an aqueous dispersion of cellulose fibers, onto a moving forming fabric in the forming section of a paper machine. A large amount of water is drained from the slurry through the forming fabric, leaving the cellulosic fibrous web on the surface of the forming fabric .
The newly formed cellulosic fibrous web proceeds from the forming section to a press section, which includes a series of press nips. The cellulosic fibrous web passes through the press nips supported by a press fabric, or, as is often the case, between two such press fabrics. In the press nips, the cellulosic fibrous web is subjected to compressive forces which squeeze water therefrom, and which adhere the cellulosic fibers in the web to one another to turn the cellulosic fibrous web into a paper sheet. The water is accepted by the press fabric or fabrics and, ideally, does not return to the paper sheet.
The paper sheet finally proceeds to a dryer section, which includes at least one series of rotatable dryer drums or cylinders, which are internally heated by steam. The newly formed paper sheet is directed in a serpentine path sequentially around each in the series of drums by a dryer fabric, which holds the paper sheet closely against the surfaces of the drums . The heated drums reduce the water content of the paper sheet to a desirable level through evaporation.
It should be appreciated that the forming, press and dryer fabrics all take the form of endless loops on the paper machine and function in the manner of conveyors. It should further be appreciated that paper manufacture is a continuous process which proceeds at considerable speeds. That is to say, the fibrous slurry is continuously deposited onto the forming fabric in the forming section, while a newly manufactured paper sheet is continuously wound onto rolls after it exits from the dryer section.
The present invention relates primarily to the fabrics used in the press section, generally known as press fabrics, but it may also find application in the fabrics used in other paper industry processes.
Press fabrics play a critical role during the paper manufacturing process. One of their functions, as implied above, is to support and to carry the paper product being manufactured through the press nips.
Press fabrics also participate in the finishing of the surface of the paper sheet . That is, press fabrics are designed to have smooth surfaces and uniformly resilient structures, so that, in the course of passing through the press nips, a smooth, mark-free surface is imparted to the paper . Perhaps most importantly, the press fabrics accept the large quantities of water extracted from the wet paper in the press nip. In order to fulfill this function, there literally must be space, commonly referred to as void volume, within the press fabric for the water to go, and the fabric must have adequate permeability to water for its entire useful life. Finally, press fabrics must be able to prevent the water accepted from the wet paper from returning to and rewetting the paper upon exit from the press nip.
Contemporary press fabrics are used in a wide variety of. styles designed to meet the requirements of the paper machines on which they are installed for the paper grades being manufactured. Generally, they comprise a woven base' fabric into which has been needled a batting of fine, non-woven fibrous material. The base fabrics may be woven from monofilament, plied monofilament, multifilament or plied multifilament yarns, and may be single- layered, multi-layered or laminated. The yarns are typically extruded from any one of several synthetic polymeric resins, such as polyamide and polyester resins, used for this purpose by those of ordinary skill in the paper machine clothing arts .
Woven fabrics take many different forms. For example, they may be woven endless, or flat woven and subsequently rendered into endless form with a seam. Alternatively, they may be produced by a process commonly known as modified endless weaving, wherein the widthwise edges of the base fabric are provided with seaming loops using the machine- direction (MD) yarns thereof. In this process, the MD yarns weave continuously back and forth between the widthwise edges of the fabric, at each edge turning back and forming a seaming loop. A base fabric produced in this fashion is placed into endless form during installation on a paper machine, and for this reason is referred to as an on-machine-seamable fabric. To place such a fabric into endless form, the two widthwise edges are seamed together. To facilitate seaming, many current fabrics have seaming loops on the crosswise edges of the two ends of the fabric. The seaming loops themselves are often formed by the machine- direction (MD) yarns of the fabric. The seam is typically formed by bringing the two ends of the fabric press together, by interdigitating the seaming loops at the two ends of the fabric, and by directing a so-called pin, or pintle, through the passage defined by the interdigitated seaming loops to lock the two ends of the fabric together. Further, the woven base fabrics may be laminated by placing one base fabric within the endless loop formed by another, and by needling a staple fiber batting from one or both of the sheet side or machine side of the base fabrics through both base fabrics to join them to one another. One or both woven base fabrics may be of the on- machine-seamable type.
Other structures can be used as the "base" fabric for a press fabric such as extruded meshes, knitted structures, or other nonwoven products such as foils, films, or spunbonds . In any event, the press fabrics are in the form of endless loops, or are seamable into such forms, having a specific length, measured longitudinally therearound, and a specific width, measured transversely thereacross. Returning now to the dewatering function of the above-described press fabrics, it has been shown previously that introducing surface indentations or voids into a press fabric structure may improve water transfer through the fabric. The present invention provides an alternative method of making these improvements .
Summary Of The Invention
Accordingly, the present invention is a method whereby a finished water permeable press fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing backside voids which are reservoirs of minimum pressure available to accept water.
Brief Description Of The Drawings
Figure 1 is a side view illustrating the method of the present invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of one example of an array of voids produced by the method shown in Figure 1 ; and
Figure 3 is a plan view of another configuration for an array of void.s .
Detailed Description Of The In ention
Figure 1 illustrates the method according to the present invention wherein a fabric 10, for example, a conventional water permeable press fabric, is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing voids 12 , or reservoirs of minimum pressure, on the fabric back surface 16 which are available to accept water. When drilled on a backside surface 16 of fabric 10 using a laser 14, the macro-voids 12 have a breadth and a depth, for example, in the range of approximately 0.30 to 1.50 mm.
The laser 14, which may be, for example, a small medical laser, is used to selectively etch the voids 12 in the surface 16 of the fabric 10. This allows very accurate depth profile control of the removed material . Of course other laser etching devices suitable for the purpose may also be used. In addition, conventional laser etching control systems (not shown) may be used to impart the desired void pattern or profile at great speed, while also providing great flexibility in void design and size. Typical configurations include a square array 24 of hemispherical voids 22 in the fabric 20 shown in Figure 2, or a square array 34 of triangular pyramidal voids 32 in the fabric 30 illustrated in Figure 3. Other void designs and sizes may include, for example, circular/hemispherical, square/pyramidal, rectangular/cuboid, hexagonal, elliptical (cross- achine- direction/machine-direction orientation) , annular/demi oroidal, and grooved. Other void array patterns may include, for instance, hexagonal, pseudo random, triangular, and linear/spiral (for example, grooved) . In addition, the method of the present invention may include steps (not shown) for handling contingencies such as fiber removal from the voids and gaseous vaporization by-products.
Although laser drilling holes in press fabrics has been previously proposed, the present invention is distinct from the prior art in several important respects. For example, one previous method (U.S. Patent- No. 4,541,895) prescribes laser drilling λthrough holes"' in impervious sheets prior to their assembly into fabric to provide water channels continuous through the entire structural thickness . The present invention, on the other hand, instead modifies a water permeable press fabric to give it greater dewatering and drainage capacity, by providing laser-drilled backside voids, or reservoirs of minimum pressure, that are available to accept water.
Another prior patent (U.S. Patent No. 4,300,982) provides drainage voids on the backside of a belt, but by means very different than the present invention, that is, by providing raised incompressible islands of monofilaments . Yet another prior patent (U.S. Patent No. 4,446,187) describes laser drilling holes on a surface of a liquid impermeable material defined as a "foil". The expressed purpose is to obtain a dewatering belt possessing an even pressure distribution and a smooth paper-contact surface made liquid permeable by laser drilling holes. In contrast, the present invention specifies laser drilling on the backside surface of a liquid permeable fabric to provide fluid reservoirs, or areas of low pressure, to facilitate dewatering.
Additionally or alternatively, micro-voids may be drilled on a faceside of fabric 10 to similarly enhance void volume, fluid flow and drainage without adversely affecting the surface qualities of the fabric 10.
As understood from the forgoing description of the method for creating additional void volume in a fabric, modifications would be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art, but would not bring the invention so modified beyond the scope of the appended claims .

Claims

CLAIMS !
1. A method whereby a water permeable papermaker's fabric is given greater dewatering and drainage capacity by providing laser etched voids which are reservoirs of minimum pressure available to accept water on the backside or nonsheet side of the fabric.
2. A method of modifying a fabric comprising the steps of: providing a finished water permeable papermaker's fabric; and forming a plurality of laser etched blind- drilled voids in a surface of the fabric, thereby enhancing the fabric's dewatering capacity.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the voids are reservoirs of minimum pressure that are available
■ to accept water.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the fabric to be modified is a paper akers ' press fabric.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein the surface is the backside of the fabric.
6. The method of claim 2 wherein both a backside and a faceside of the fabric have voids formed thereon.
7. The method of claim 2 wherein a breadth and a depth of the voids are both in the range of approximately 0.30 to 1.50 mm.
8. The method of claim 2 wherein the laser is used to selectively vaporize material in the faceside or sheet contact side of the fabric to produce micro-voids which do not adversely affect the fabric's surface qualities.
9. The method of claim 2 wherein the modified fabric is for use in the press section of a papermaking machine.
10. The method of claim 2 wherein a conventional laser is used to control the profile of each void and the pattern of voids at a high speed and with great flexibility in void and array patterns .
11. The method of claim 2 wherein each void has a breadth/depth shape selected from the group comprising circular/hemispherical, square/pyramidal, rectangular/cuboid, hexagonal, elliptical, annular/demitoroidal, and grooved.
12. The method of claim 2 wherein the voids form an array pattern selected from the group comprising square, hexagonal, pseudo random, triangular, and linear/spiral .
13. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of handling fiber removal and gaseous vaporization by-products.
14. A water permeable papermaker's fabric given greater dewatering and drainage capacity, said fabric being made in a manner comprising the step of providing laser etched voids which are reservoirs of minimum pressure available to accept water.
15. A modified fabric being made in the manner comprising the steps of : providing a finished water permeable papermaker's fabric; and forming a plurality of laser etched blind- drilled voids in a surface of the fabric, thereby enhancing the fabric's dewatering capacity.
16. The fabric of claim 15 wherein the voids are reservoirs of minimum pressure that are available to accept water.
17. The fabric of I claim 15 wherein the fabric to be modified is a papermakers' press fabric.
18. The fabric of claim 15 wherein the surface is the backside of the fabric .
19. The fabric of claim 15 wherein both a backside and a faceside of the fabric have voids formed thereon.
20. The fabric of claim 15 wherein a breadth and a depth of the voids are both in the range of approximately 0.30 to 1.50 mm.
21. The fabric of claim 15 wherein the laser is used to selectively vaporize material in the faceside or sheet contact side of the fabric to produce micro-voids which do not adversely affect the fabric's surface qualities.
22. The fabric of claim 15 wherein the modified fabric is for use in the press section of a papermaking machine .
23. The fabric of claim 15 wherein a conventional laser is used to control the profile of each void and the pattern of voids at a high speed and with great flexibility in void and array patterns.
24. The fabric of claim 15 wherein each void has a breadth/depth shape selected from the group comprising circular/hemispherical, square/pyramidal, rectangular/cuboid, hexagonal, elliptical, annular/demitoroidal, and grooved.
25. The fabric of claim 15 wherein the voids form an array pattern selected from the group comprising square, hexagonal, pseudo random, triangular, and linear/spiral .
26. The fabric of claim 15 further comprising the step of handling fiber removal and gaseous vaporization by-products.
PCT/US2004/010636 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching Ceased WO2004094721A1 (en)

Priority Applications (11)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2006509757A JP2006523786A (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method to increase the void volume of press cloth by laser etching
PL04749812T PL1618250T3 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
DE602004020331T DE602004020331D1 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 METHOD FOR INCREASING THE EMPTYING VOLUME OF A PRESS FABRIC BY MEANS OF LASER TYPE PROCESSING
MXPA05011112A MXPA05011112A (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching.
NZ542798A NZ542798A (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
KR1020057019412A KR101097747B1 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
CA2521761A CA2521761C (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
AU2004233137A AU2004233137A1 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
BRPI0409396-8A BRPI0409396A (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 method for increasing the void volume of the laser engraving press fabric
EP04749812A EP1618250B1 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching
NO20055437A NO20055437L (en) 2003-04-16 2005-11-16 Method of Increasing Blank Volume by Laser Etching

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10/417,370 2003-04-16
US10/417,370 US7144479B2 (en) 2003-04-16 2003-04-16 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004094721A1 true WO2004094721A1 (en) 2004-11-04

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2004/010636 Ceased WO2004094721A1 (en) 2003-04-16 2004-04-07 Method for increasing press fabric void volume by laser etching

Country Status (20)

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US (1) US7144479B2 (en)
EP (1) EP1618250B1 (en)
JP (1) JP2006523786A (en)
KR (1) KR101097747B1 (en)
CN (1) CN1774540A (en)
AT (1) ATE427379T1 (en)
AU (1) AU2004233137A1 (en)
BR (1) BRPI0409396A (en)
CA (1) CA2521761C (en)
DE (1) DE602004020331D1 (en)
ES (1) ES2323871T3 (en)
MX (1) MXPA05011112A (en)
NO (1) NO20055437L (en)
NZ (1) NZ542798A (en)
PL (1) PL1618250T3 (en)
PT (1) PT1618250E (en)
RU (1) RU2349696C2 (en)
TW (1) TWI322211B (en)
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